1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an immersion liquid retainer and an observed portion fixing apparatus, which are used to observe a laboratory animal alive for a long duration with a microscope including an immersion objective, and to a microscope including the retainer and the apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Multi-photon excitation microscopes such as a two-photon excitation microscope and the like enable a laboratory animal such as a mouse or the like to be observed alive. In recent years, also a time-lapse observation for observing a laboratory animal alive for a long duration equal to or longer than several hours has been made. Such an observation is normally conducted in a state where a laboratory animal is made asleep. However, since a field of view and a focal depth of a microscope are very narrow, it is needed to suppress movements of an observed portion, caused by breathing, heartbeat or the like, of a laboratory animal so as to continuously observe the same portion of the animal.
A technique of suppressing movements of an observed portion of a laboratory animal is disclosed, for example, by Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-338631. Japanese laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-338631 discloses a microscopy system including a stabilizer for suppressing dynamic behaviors of a surface of a specimen. The microscopy system disclosed by Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-338631 further includes absorption means for absorbing the stabilizer onto a surface of a specimen, so that dynamic behaviors of the surface of the specimen in the neighborhood of the absorbed portion can be suppressed.